2022 September 14 – Honorable Kenneth A. Kedi, Speaker of the Nitijela (Parliament) of the Marshall Islands hasbeen elected to serve as the new Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Pacific Islands Development Bank (PIDB).At the same time, Honorable Lourdes Leon Guerrero, Governor of Guam, was elected as PIDB’sVice Chairwoman, and a member will be appointed from the FSM State of Yap to serve asitsSecretary. The election took place via Zoommeeting platform on September 13, 2022. “I would like to thank the outgoing Chairman of the Board of Governors, Governor Ralph Torres of the CNMI,for his capable leadership and support as he held the chairmanship since 2019,” said Speaker Kedi.

Hon. Kenneth A. Kedi is presently serving his second term as Speaker of the Nitijela and is a former President of the Association of Pacific Islands Legislatures (APIL), having led the Association during its 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 terms. Speaker Kedi has been very supportive of the bank’s mission, and under his leadership and representation on the PIDB Board of Governors, the Republic of the Marshall Islands has infused close to two million dollars in capital contribution into PIDB. At this time, the Republic of the Marshall Islands is the third largest shareholder of the bank with 14.2% share ownership.

Commenting on his appointment, Speaker Kenneth A. Kedi stated: “I am honored to have the opportunity to lead a strong team of leaders. Being able to have the helm to continue the role of shaping the bank’s future is a great privilege, and I take pleasure in acknowledging and thank the Board for the trust it has placed in me and I look forward to working together with the Board, Governor Ralph Torres, who did a tremendous job in leading our bank for the past years and the whole team at PIDB. PIDB is a dynamic financial services provider with strong roots in our region which was endorsed and established by the Association of the Pacific Islands Legislature (APIL) mainly to assist member countries in accelerating their economic and social development through its lending programs.” “On behalf of the management and staff of the bank, we congratulate Honorable Speaker Kedi. We welcome the new leadership of the bank’s Board of Governors and are looking forward to working with our new Chairman to continue the bank’s mission in providing services to people in our region and communities and moving the bank forward. We also would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to outgoing Chairman Gov. Ralph Torres for his valuable leadership these past three years and the CNMI representatives on the Board of Governors as well as Board of Directors for their demonstrated support of the bank, and in particular, their efforts in putting in an additional one million dollars in capital this year,” said bank President/CEO Lindsay Timarong.

The PIDB is a regional bank established by the Association of Pacific Islands Legislatures (APIL) in July of 1989. The bank’s mission is to contribute to the acceleration of economic and social development of member states and nations, individually and collectively,and to promote economic cooperation among them. PIDB shareholder member governments include:The Commonwealth of the Northern MarianaIslands; the FSM States of Yap, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Chuuk;the Island of Guam; the Republic of Palau; and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The Kwajalein Atoll Development Authority (KADA) is an Associate Member shareholder.